Massachusetts SHARK Wedding | Carly and Brad

September 28, 2015

Brad and Carly are an amazing couple. They contacted me last year, just about a year from their wedding date, and we spoke on the phone about their wedding plans. I wrote “SO. MUCH. LAUGHTER.” on the notes that I was scribbling about everything they were telling me, and it was so true. These two are so kind, so fun-loving, and their wedding day was the epitome of that. With the foundation of the wedding taking place on Brad’s grandfather’s land right in the historic center of Shirley, Massachusetts, Brad and Carly personalized the event with their own flair for welcoming guests, along with a reverent nod to the history of the property. They were married under a twin pair of 400-year old oak trees that once stood guard over a homestead and now are part of a protected wildlife refuge. Their tall, impossibly-overreaching branches extended over the wedding ceremony site and provided a humbling nod to centuries of New England history on the property leading up to that day. I have an incredible reverence for old trees, and these two oaks are certainly deserving of respect and admiration for all they have clearly been through.

Carly and Brad infused their shark and peacock theme into nearly every detail of their wedding!

the ceremony

Carly with her brother and sister….. I can’t even imagine what their childhoods must have been like!

the reception

#RIDE SHARKS

This awesome mechanical shark was the life of the party. All the guests had an absolute blast.

The beautiful dessert table was loaded with shark-themed cupcakes, and cake pops in beautiful peacock colors.

When Pig Kahuna caters your pig roast, the bride gets the honors of chopping off the head!

The evening continued on with more fun and more surprises….. As you all know, I photograph a lot of weddings. And even though I see so many beautiful moments and touching speeches and emotional dances and things, honestly not a lot really gets to me anymore. I love seeing people express their emotions at weddings, and I know good stuff when I see it, but it really takes something out of the ordinary to actually choke me up. And Carly and her Dad did just that with the most amazing father-daughter dance I have ever witnessed. What started out as a fairly predictable father-daughter dance (Clint Black), ended abruptly at 1:12 when the DJ launched into Eric Clapton’s “Forever Man” and Carly and her dad whipped out a couple of sticks and proceeded to rock the crowd with the most thunderous air guitar performance I have ever seen. It was EPIC. I don’t even know how I even got these shots, because I was literally shooting through tears. It was the most fun, amazing thing I’ve ever seen at a wedding. I had to take a moment when it was over and go to my bag and pretend like I was very, very busy changing my lens.

The dance party was outrageously fun, and although I have hours of coverage of the hilarity, I think it’s best if we just agree that for blogging purposes that what happens in #JURGALAND stays in #JURGALAND. Ammirite??

Thank you to Carly and Brad for being so wonderful to work with! Along with so many fabulous vendors that made this one event to remember!

Erika Follansbee is a Goffstown, New Hampshire wedding photographer specializing in relaxed events in unique locations such as inns, farms, barns, historic sites and more. Laid back wedding days with lots of beautiful details and natural light are her favorites.